The Artist in the Nursery Interview: Rosa Murillo

Rosa Murillo is an artist and architect, wife to an incredible husband, and mom to two fantastic and  incredible children, Isabel, 7 and Ben, 5.  Born in Mexico, she worked in architecture illustration and model building until 2002 when she became a full-time mom.  In 2006 she started a project called Found Art Tuesday, where a free piece of art was left in a public place to be found. She now lives with her family in North Carolina.

I know you are primarily a self-taught artist.  Can you talk a little bit about what you do and the history of your art?

I studied architecture in college and worked for a few years as an architect illustrator and building models. When I got married and moved to the US I had the opportunity to start my masters degree in Architecture but the universe had other plans.  I got pregnant with my daughter and so I had to stop school, but started exploring painting and art more and more. After she was born I found out I was not prepared at all for the monumental life change of having a baby. I sometimes felt lost in the routine of cleaning the house and caring for her.

So when the baby slept I started drawing and painting as a form of meditation. This was the first time in my career that the outcome would matter only to me. I could make no mistakes, there was no client, no deadline, no boss. I could make anything, anything! It was complete creative freedom.[Through this practice] I started finding my voice through art. And the most surprising thing was that every finished project gave me some kind of punctuation in my days that was much needed. It gave me sanity. They tell you that you should nap when your baby naps, but I just painted. This was my daily meditation and gave me a sense of self. I was not only someone’s mom but also ME. I had something important to say.  It also helped me deal with living in a different country, a foreign language and also adapting to a complete change of life, all of which is pretty monumental too.

I read an article by a designer who said that she always wanted to be an artist, but the job she would have been devastated to not have was motherhood.  Does this story speak to you?  What was your life’s ambition about motherhood and/or artistry?

I consider myself first a mother and then an artist because I think that when your children are small they need you to be there as much as you can. I always had a great desire to be a mother, and when my children were born I felt that was the most important thing I had ever done.  I am so lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with them and to be their primary caregiver.

Making art comes natural to me and I never thought I would be a famous artist or that would I have my art in a museum collection, but I know that I will make a difference in my children’s lives, so this is where I try to concentrate my best efforts.  You are your child’s first and most important teacher, so I believe that trying to help them discover the richness and depth of life is the best gift you could give them. At home we incorporate art and science and exploring everyday. We don’t have planned art sessions but we have made dolls together, magic wands, paintings for their bedrooms, we have sketched squirrels at the park and sculptures at museums. Painting and drawing has become an activity that they enjoy immensely. When we are having a bad day we can usually turn it around by doing a small art project.

How has your process in creating art changed as your children have entered the picture and grown?

When my daughter was a few months old, I started incorporating her to my daily painting sessions so she became my painting buddy. I would talk to her about what my plans were for this or that painting, the color combinations, etc. When she was about a year and a half, she started painting with watercolors and enjoying it immensely. We would do paintings at the same time, so she didn’t needed me to guide her in what she was making and I think she enjoyed the freedom of just putting color to paper without any rules.  We enjoyed those art sessions and she developed an interest in art that her grandmas [both] made sure was encouraged. She now has better paint tubes and easels than I do, and she still enjoys all kind of art making. She always brings a set of markers and her sketchbook when we have to take a ride in the car.

My son likes to participate too. At the beginning [it was] by trying to take the brush away from his sister, but now he will make his own little projects.  He is a gifted story teller and will often make a story along with drawing a painting, which are always very interesting.  I will try to show them different painting techniques along the way, like using acrylics one time, watercolors the next, maybe clay too.

Now that my children go to school for the most part of the day I find for the first time that I have more time to dedicate to art and be more focused. I used to sit for only five minute sessions at a time. Now I have more time to plan what I’ll be making and dedicating longer stretches of time to finishing it. But it still is largely intuitive. I’ve found that when I try to plan out a painting it usually feels forced and doesn’t turn at all like I wanted it to. But when I work letting the paint guide me things turn out much more interesting.  I still have a hundred things to do, but I am so fortunate to stay at home and dedicate some part of my day to art making.

You do so much—jewelry, illustration, assemblage, found art, etc.  What are your biggest challenges to getting work done?  What has helped you and what keeps you going?  When do you actually get the work done?

My biggest challenge is staying focused. I sometimes have great ideas while driving and then I get home and have completely forgotten about them. I am interested in so many different types of art that sometimes I have to force myself to finish something I’ve started. This is one of the reasons why I started my blog, I noticed how documenting it helps me not give up. The found art project I started in 2006 had a long life because I was sharing the pictures online, there was someone watching, people joined and we did it together.   It helped me not give up that easily and stay focused on it. I like going back in the archives and looking at everything I’ve done and reading about why I did it the way I did, it helps me understand my process better because it is usually intuitive and not planned beforehand.

Lately the only time I have for art is a few hours in the mornings.  When my kids come home, I no longer allow myself to go in the studio unless it is to do a project together, because I need to spend time with them too.

You seem to be one of those artists whose art is their life and their life is their art.  It sounds like art is a big part of your home life?

You have just put your finger on it. That is exactly how I feel like! My art is my life and my life is my art. I feel the two so connected. I couldn’t have one without the other.

I am lucky to have a room in our house dedicated as a studio, and I can say it has everything I need. I have collected tools, stones, coins, papers, stamps, boxes and other things that get me inspired. My kids also have a table in my studio and they are free to come in and borrow things from my private stash of goodies, they have made really interesting pieces. We don’t have scheduled studio time but we find time at least once a week, usually when they don’t have homework, to have fun there. But on their own they paint almost everyday, even if it’s just markers and plain paper.

My daughter was into painting wooden cigar boxes for a while and she made a collection of eight assemblage boxes that makes me wish I had a fraction of her talent when I was 7. She understands proportion, perspective and color very well. They both have their different interests in art. My son is more into sculpture and my daughter into paint, so when we do art together they both do their own thing but one thing I can tell is that it makes them happy and relaxed.

One of the things I find so challenging as a parent and an artist is a lack of community around me.  I know you grew up in Mexico, but now live in North Carolina.  Does community play a role in your life and if so, how?  How do you keep from feeling isolated?

I feel so connected but sometimes I can feel so isolated too.  It is a challenge for me. I am lucky to have a wonderful husband who supports me in all the crazy ideas I have, and also a great group of friends around us, but I also sometimes feel like my work is not understood or appreciated and I have to remind myself that maybe the audience for my art is a different one [than the one I am targeting], instead of feeling like the art is no good.  I also feel connected and understood through other artists blogs, a lot of whom are also moms, and so I know I am not alone, that it IS possible to be a mom and also an artist, and have fun doing both!

When I first came to the US I felt like I had been dropped in a different planet. The language barrier was overwhelming, even though I spoke and understood English well, so I tried to deal with this on my paintings.

My Mexican upbringing also pops up in my work continually, so I feel connected to my past but also I feel more at ease with my present and future. The wall has come down in part to the great support of my family, friends and the online community I’ve found.   But I still miss a good homemade Mexican meal!

What are you working on now?

Right now I have a couple of commissions for portrait paintings I am working on. I am also doing jewelry and enjoying the design process. I have found wearable art to be very challenging but fun to design.

Do you have any advice for the parent who is working to balance their creativity with their busy life?

It is difficult sometimes to reach a balance between creativity and the busy life of a parent, especially when your children are small. I think the best thing to do is take it one day at a time. Children follow your cues. If they see you enjoying yourself they will enjoy the activity too. The important thing to remember is that the outcome is not always the important thing in art. Sometimes it’s the process of making something that really enriches our experience. So don’t worry if you don’t end up with masterpieces or have very little time to dedicate to art making, 5 minutes a day is plenty of time. Small projects are good. As the children grow older, they will have a longer attention span and can do more focused work. They will grow and you will have time again to dedicate to what it is you like to do, enjoy this time with your kids while they are still little. It does really go by very fast!